


Put Down Your Sword And Crown

by Zee



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: First Time, Friends to Lovers, Frottage, Future Fic, Hand Jobs, M/M, Original Character(s), Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2015-04-18
Packaged: 2018-03-24 15:31:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3773869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zee/pseuds/Zee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“So think about this,” Aang said. “What kind of person should your future wife be? Are you looking for someone serious, someone funny, someone charming?”</p>
<p>Zuko looked into Aang’s eyes. It was a good question, but his mind felt slow and blocked. “I… don’t know. Someone funny, I guess. Someone that I can have fun with. Someone I can trust.” Someone who could lift him up out of a dark mood. Someone who would balance out his own internal demons. </p>
<p>Someone a lot like Aang.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Put Down Your Sword And Crown

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mm8](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mm8/gifts).



> Takes place several years after the end of the show, so they're in their early twenties. Title is from "Moth's Wings" by Passion Pit.

Aang crossed his arms over his chest and huffed out an annoyed sigh. “So what’s wrong with her _this_ time?”

Zuko paced in their tent, his hands clasped behind his back. There wasn’t much room; he kept taking three steps to the tent wall, turning around and taking three steps to the other wall. He could feel Aang’s eyes following him. “Nothing! She seemed very--very nice. Just not for me.”

“Well, _I_ thought she was great. She was funny! And she laughed at your tea joke, how many people can you say that about?” 

“I just can’t see myself spending the rest of my life with her.” It was true. Ling had been lovely, with black hair that fell to her waist and an infectious grin; charming, courteous and the very picture of a lord’s daughter. And it was true that not many people laughed genuinely at Zuko’s jokes. But when he tried to imagine kissing her or marrying her, he felt a mental block that he just couldn’t get past. 

He needed to find a wife. That was the entire point of this field trip that they were on. Aang had offered to help him when Zuko had admitted how scared and overwhelmed he felt about the prospect of finding a bride, and so they’d set out together on a tour of the Fire Nation, looking for women to marry. 

Zuko had hated the idea of this trip at first, hated the thought that he needed to interview women like he was trying to hire a candidate for a job. He remembered what it was like being with Mai, being in love, and he wanted to feel that way again for whichever woman he ended up marrying. He wanted it to be spontaneous and grow naturally, but he was the Fire Lord, and that simply wasn’t possible. He was under pressure from his advisors to marry as soon as possible; if something were to happen to him without any heirs, it would plunge the Fire Nation back into chaos. He was more resigned to this now, but he still didn’t like it. 

So he was being picky. As he should be, considering he was looking for the woman who would be his companion and bear his children, but there hadn’t been anything objectively wrong with any of the women they’d met thus far. They’d all been lovely people and had they wanted to marry any one of Zuko’s friends, he would have cheered. But as for himself--

He just couldn’t picture making it work with any of them, and they were running out of viable candidates. 

Aang sighed and crossed the tent to Zuko, planting his hands on Zuko’s shoulders. Zuko stopped his pacing. “So think about this,” Aang said. “What kind of person should your future wife be? Are you looking for someone serious, someone funny, someone charming?”

Zuko looked into Aang’s eyes. It was a good question, but his mind felt slow and blocked. “I… don’t know. Someone funny, I guess. Someone that I can have fun with. Someone I can trust.” Someone who could lift him up out of a dark mood. Someone who would balance out his own internal demons. 

Someone a lot like Aang. This was, of course, the biggest roadblock preventing Zuko from finding someone that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He had already found that person in Aang. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t possible, that Aang was with Katara and that Zuko needed to find a woman who could bear him children; Zuko had berated himself with these facts for years and the feelings still hadn’t left him. 

Aang’s tongue flicked out to lick his lips, and Zuko tracked the motion carefully. “So we’re looking for a fun-loving, hilarious, trustworthy girl. That shouldn’t be too hard.”

Zuko made a face. “Also, someone who likes me. That’s the real problem.”

 

“What are you talking about? You’re totally likeable!” Aang gave Zuko’s shoulders a squeeze. Zuko was hyper-aware of the warmth transferred from Aang’s fingertips. Aang was distracting. 

Zuko stepped away from him and looked at the tent wall instead. “No, I’m not. The Fire Lord isn’t ‘likeable,’ he’s wantable. People want the power. I want someone that can see past that, that knows I’m more than that.”

“It sounds like you want someone that you can actually go out with for a while,” Aang said. “Not someone brand new, right?”

Zuko winced. Aang was getting a little too close to the crux of the problem, which was not something Zuko was ready to admit out loud yet, or ever. “I don’t have the luxury of dating someone for a while, though. My advisors want me to marry next summer, so I can start producing heirs.”

“Right.” Aang steepled his fingers beneath his chin. He looked serious in a way that Zuko still wasn’t quite used to--sure, Aang could be serious about world-threatening matters, but now he was taking Zuko’s life seriously, and that was a little different. “So it’ll have to be someone who’s new to you, but you guys will have a whole lifetime to get to know each other, right?”

“I guess.” Zuko felt dispirited. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get married at all. He could see the appeal of spending the rest of his life with someone and building a family with them. It was just that it was impossible to imagine doing that happily with a stranger.

“We’ll find someone! Don’t worry,” Aang grinned. It was hard for Zuko to concentrate on anything else when Aang smiled at him. “You just need to maintain a positive attitude about it.”

“My attitude is completely positive,” Zuko lied. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

Aang punched him lightly in the arm. “You have to actually be optimistic, you know? You have to be open to the idea of meeting the _love of your life._ ” Aang batted his eyelashes, and Zuko’s breath hitched. Aang was awfully close, a casual invasion of Zuko’s personal space that he really ought to be used to after so many years. 

“I’m not going to meet the love of my life!” Zuko snapped, overly harsh in response to Aang’s playful attitude. “Let’s not pretend, all right? I’m finding someone to be head of state with me. I’m not going to find someone to fall in love with.”

“You don’t know that,” Aang said, stubborn. “And anyway, why are you being so picky if you’re not looking for someone you can love?”

“I just--” Zuko looked at Aang and all the words died in his throat. He didn’t expect Aang to understand: that when you were friends with the Avatar, who shone like the sun and illuminated everything around him, everyone else was gray and dim in comparison. 

It had been easier before this particular trip. Before this, he’d seen Aang every once in a while, and always in the presence of others; he’d been used to life without Aang around. It was easy, when Zuko only saw Aang once every year or so, to forget the way Aang made his pulse jump. Then Aang had shown up when Zuko was getting ready to search the country for a bride, and suggested that they go on this trip together, just the two of them--”Another life-changing field trip,” Aang had said, slinging his arm around Zuko’s shoulders. Zuko had agreed, because how could he not?

So they had departed a few weeks ago on Oppa, without any bodyguards or courtiers to accompany them. It was a lot of time to spend alone with Aang, and Zuko had found himself drinking up the time greedily. He never wanted it to end, which was a problem, because the entire purpose of this trip was to find someone _else_ that he wanted to spend the rest of his time alone with.

In the year and change since Zuko had last seen him, Aang had filled out and grown a beard and carried himself with more purpose than before. He had always been magnetic, but now Zuko found himself drawn to Aang in a way that was--not new of course, but certainly more pronounced than before. It was distressing.

“It’s hard for you, I get it,” Aang said, and Zuko thought that he didn’t get it at all--if he did, he probably wouldn’t want to be in this tent alone with Zuko. “But we’ll find someone. You’ll see.”

Aang wrapped him up into a hug, his broad shoulders pressing against Zuko’s chest and his arms slipping around Zuko’s back. Zuko clung to him. Zuko was desperate for Aang’s touch like this, even if it was supposed to be just brotherly, even if it was more than Zuko deserved. He buried his face in Aang’s shoulder and breathed in Aang’s scent, a hint of jasmine over sun-warmed skin, and he was aware of it when the hug went on a few too many seconds past normal.

Aang coughed and pulled away, and Zuko wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but he thought that Aang’s cheeks might be a little red. “We’ll find someone,” Aang repeated, giving Zuko one last clap on the shoulder before he stepped back. “Now we should get some rest, so that we’ll have plenty of energy to continue the hunt tomorrow.”

They dressed for bed with their backs to each other, and Zuko tried to forget the heady sensation of Aang pressed up against him. When they lay down on their mats, Zuko twisted over on his side to face Aang and asked Aang to tell him a story. This had become their nightly ritual, Aang using the time to catch Zuko up on some of the adventures the Avatar had had in the year since Zuko had seen him. Zuko drifted off to sleep listening to the animated tones of Aang’s voice.

*

The next day they flew to a medium-sized town just West of Fire Fountain City called Zanaka. Zanaka’s lord had suggested his daughter as a possible match for Zuko before, on one of his many trips to the Capital. He had shown Zuko a sketch of her, and Zuko had thought she was pretty. And apparently she was a skilled swordmaster, which Zuko was intrigued by. He had yet to meet her in person, though.

“I’ve got a good feeling about this one,” Aang said, rubbing his hands together. They were waiting outside the lord’s house, which was oddly modest for the ruler of such a prosperous town. 

“What an auspicious day, getting to host the Fire Lord and the Avatar!” Lord Kuo came out to greet them, his loud voice booming across the courtyard. He was a large, barrel-chested man who towered over both Zuko and Aang. “I can’t tell you how happy we are to have you. Please, come in, my wife has been cooking all morning to prepare a feast for you.”

“You are gracious to have us,” Zuko said as they trailed after him. 

“Think nothing of it,” Kuo said, waving a hand. “Here, let me introduce you to the reason for your visit.”

He led them into a large sitting room. On an ornate seat beside the window was his daughter, Fang. Zuko swallowed. She was prettier than in the sketch Zuko had seen, that was for sure. 

“It is an honor to meet you,” Fang said, rising from her seat. She bowed low, and Zuko and Aang each bowed in response. 

“The honor is mine,” Zuko said. 

“Here, we’ll leave you two to get to know each other,” Kuo said, taking Aang by the elbow. Aang grinned at Zuko and gave him what he surely thought was a discreet thumbs-up as they left the room.

“So,” Zuko said, awkwardly taking a seat in a chair across from her. He never knew what to say at this point. “Um, tell me about yourself.”

Fang gave a musical laugh. She was very ladylike, holding her hands in her lap just so and sitting up straight. There wasn’t a hair out of place on her head. “Where would you like me to start?”

“I… don’t know,” Zuko said. Then, thinking of what he’d said last night about looking for someone to be head of state with him, he said, “Why don’t you start with telling me why being the Fire Lord’s wife appeals to you.”

If Fang was surprised by this question, she didn’t show it. Instead she looked out the window, pensive, before eventually answering. “I love my town, and I don’t want to leave,” she said slowly. “But I’ve seen the turmoil that has been caused by the end of the war. Don’t get me wrong, my lord--I’m glad the war is over. But it’s been hard on all of us. If I can help my people at all by standing at the head of the nation, then I feel like that’s my duty.”

So it didn’t sound like she was power-hungry. Then again, maybe she was just saying what she thought he wanted to hear. Zuko folded his hands in his lap and tried to think of what else he could ask to find out what Fang was like. He sucked at this part--well, so far he had sucked at every part of this process, but especially this. “So… what do you like to do for fun?”

Her lips parted in a smile that displayed perfect white teeth. If she was as uncomfortable as he was, she didn’t show it. “I enjoy painting, and embroidery. I enjoy watching the local firebending students, although I’m not a bender myself.”

Zuko cocked his head. “Your father told me you were a trained swordsman.” 

“Really?” Fang’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m surprised that he mentioned that. He… doesn’t like me to talk about it, but yes. I know my way around a sword, and I enjoy dueling.”

“What made you want to learn? It seems unusual for a lord’s daughter,” Zuko said. 

The conversation went on from there. Fang was easy to talk to, although she didn’t ask Zuko any questions in return. Zuko wondered why--did she have no curiosity whatsoever about this man she might marry? Was it just enough that he was Fire Lord?

Eventually, it was time for them to rejoin the others for dinner. It was pleasant enough; the food was delicious, and in this larger group Zuko could rely on Aang and Kuo to do most of the talking. He sat back and watched Fang and tried to picture her by his side for the rest of his life.

He couldn’t imagine it. Maybe it was because he had only known her for a day. Maybe if they stuck around, he would feel a greater connection.

As the night wound down, Kuo took Zuko aside. “I am very attached to my daughter, and it pains me to think of sending her away to the Capital,” he said. “But I believe she would make a good ruler, and it would make me proud to see my descendants be heirs to the throne.”

“I like her,” Zuko said. “I’d like to stay in town for a few days, and see if I can get to know her better.”

“Of course! Our home is open to you for however long you’d like to stay,” Kuo said, beaming at him. 

“I’m glad you want to stay,” Aang said when Zuko told him of his plans. “I’ll bet that she loosens up around you and you guys will become friends. And then… more than friends.” He waggled his eyebrows at Zuko, who rolled his eyes.

Kuo had one guest bedroom, which was surprising to Zuko, but then it was a small house. Aang set up his cot on the floor, insisting that this was more comfortable to him than the big luxurious bed anyway. 

The bed _was_ big. For some reason it felt bigger to Zuko than the royal bed at home, even though this couldn’t possibly be the case. He tossed and turned and tried to imagine sharing a bed like this with someone, with a woman. Doing that for the rest of his life. 

The thought flashed across his mind that he could ask Aang to join him tonight--the bed was more than big enough for two. Lying in the dark, Zuko flushed at the thought and tried to banish it from his mind. It was silly and delusional to imagine something like that when it could never come to pass. Sure, Aang might agree to share the bed with him if Zuko asked, but Zuko could never cross that distance, could never reach for him in the middle of the night. So why torture himself by thinking about it?

*

The next day, Fang took him on a tour of Zanaka. She took him to her favorite noodle place, which Zuko had to admit was pretty good, and they went to the marketplace, which was colorful and busy and full of tantalizing smells and sights. The local playmakers company was putting on a performance in the central square, and they stopped to watch it. 

They talked a lot about fighting. Zuko knew a little about swordplay from the time he’d spent around Sokka, and Fang said that watching firebenders and learning their techniques was a passion of hers. She seemed pleased when Zuko said that he’d like to see her swordplay, and said that she would ask her teacher to come by for a practice duel that he could watch. 

They didn’t return to Kuo’s house until sunset. There was a cluster of small children outside the house, and in the center was Aang, riding a spinning air ball the way Zuko’d seen him do a thousand times when they were kids. It sent a pang of nostalgia through Zuko, and he and Fang stopped to watch.

“Ta-da!” Aang finished in a somersault on the ground, rolling to his feet with his hands on his hips and a huge grin on his face. The kids squealed and clapped, and Fang clapped too, laughing. Aang bowed low for her.

“It’s fascinating to see an airbender at work,” Fang said. “I love watching all kinds of bending, and of course airbending is not something I get to see every day.”

“Well, Aang loves showing off, so that works out,” Zuko said drily. Aang stuck his tongue out at him. For a moment Zuko could pretend that they were still teenagers, traveling the world together, with the concerns of the crown far away and un-pressing. It pulled at his heart.

Dinner was again delicious, and Zuko sat across from Fang and again tried to imagine her sitting beside him on the throne. He’d enjoyed his time with her today. She was easygoing and quick to smile, finding delight in small things. If they married, would he be able to love her eventually?

Aang asked him the same questions when they were alone that night. “So what do you think so far?” Aang said as they undressed for bed. “Not that you have to make a decision now, of course--we can stay longer, if you want.”

“I like her,” Zuko said. “She’s really nice, and I think she would make a good ruler. But I don’t know yet. It’s hard to say.”

Aang looked over at him, his lips pursed. “Okay,” he said. “You don’t sound very enthusiastic.”

Zuko’s shoulders slumped. He sat down on the edge of the bed. “I guess I’m not,” he said. “It’s not that I don’t like her. I do! I think we could be friends. It’s just that there’s nothing… _there_ there.”

“Nothing ‘there’ there,” Aang repeated, and Zuko could tell that he was frustrated. “What exactly kind of ‘there’ are you looking for? You know that this is the last of the names we had when we set out on this trip. This is it. If it doesn’t work out with Fang, then we’ll just have to roam the countryside, interviewing random women until we find someone who has some ‘there’ there.”

Zuko cringed. Aang was being harsh, but he wasn’t wrong. Zuko knew that it was time to get serious, but everything in him recoiled at the thought of marrying Fang or any of the other women they’d met. And he knew why that was, too. 

“I know that,” he said, his voice rising to match Aang’s. “I know it’s time for me to get my act together, all right? But what would you have me do, marry someone random when that might make us both miserable?”

“You’re being over-dramatic,” Aang said. “You and Fang wouldn’t make each other miserable. You’d just--”

“--feel nothing for each other,” Zuko said bitterly. “I’m sorry if I’m not thrilled about that prospect. I’m sorry for wanting something more.”

“Maybe something more will develop,” Aang said. “Like me and Katara--she wasn’t in love with me from the moment we met, but she developed feelings for me over time.”

Zuko wasn’t in the mood to hear about that. “How wonderful for you,” he said, and Aang frowned, looking hurt.

“I was just saying,” Aang said. “It’s possible for those feelings to develop over time. You don’t always know what you’re going to feel for someone when you meet them at first.”

Zuko thought of how he’d seen Aang as an enemy when they’d first met, and knew that that was true. “You’re right,” he said around the lump in his throat. It was getting harder and harder to hide this. “But I don’t think I have room in my heart for anyone else right now.”

Aang’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean by that?” 

Zuko hesitated for only a moment. But he was tired of dancing around this subject, tired of pretending. He crossed the room in two steps and grasped Aang’s shoulders, pulling him in. Aang’s lips were open in a question when Zuko kissed him. 

Zuko’s heart was pounding in his throat. Aang wasn’t kissing back, but he also wasn’t shoving Zuko away, and when Zuko pulled back to look at him Aang’s eyes were wide and startled.

“That--” Aang said. “You…”

“Yeah,” Zuko said. He wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen next. They stood there like that, Zuko’s hands on Aang’s shoulders and Aang’s eyes flicking back and forth over Zuko’s face. Just when Zuko felt that he couldn’t bear it any longer, a look of determination flashed on Aang’s face and his hands came up to grasp Zuko’s hips.

“I never knew,” Aang said. “But--me, too.” And he leaned in, pressing his mouth to Zuko’s. 

Zuko kissed back with everything he had. He couldn’t believe this was actually happening, that after so many years he was finally able to share in Aang’s light. He kissed back thirstily, sucking Aang’s tongue into his mouth and wrapping his arms tightly around him. He was excited, he was breathless, he was undone. This was everything that he’d been thinking about lately and everything he wanted. 

Except for one thing. When he realized it, Zuko jerked back, panting. “What about Katara?” he blurted out, feeling a harsh guilt course through him. Katara was one of his best friends, he couldn’t do this to her.

Aang smiled, his mouth a soft curve in the darkness of the room. “We have an arrangement,” he said. “It’s more something that she takes advantage of than me, usually, but--just trust me, this is all right.”

“Um, okay,” Zuko said, feeling shaky and out of his element. “If you say so.” The anxious momentum that he’d had when initially kissing Aang had abandoned him, and he just stood there, feeling awkward. Thankfully Aang crossed the short distance between them and kissed Zuko, his hand coming up to grip the back of Zuko’s head. 

“Zuko--” Aang gasped, and when he moved Zuko felt the scrape of Aang’s beard against his chin. He treasured it. Any touch of Aang’s that he could have, any scrap of Aang’s affection was something he wanted to hold close. 

“Aang,” Zuko murmured back. He kissed Aang’s cheek, his jaw, his ear. He wanted to kiss every part of him. He let his hands slide from Aang’s shoulders down to his sides, gripping Aang tightly through his shirt. There was too much fabric.

“Do you want to--um--” As usual, Zuko was completely unable to be smooth. He blushed and gestured to the bed, and thankfully Aang seemed to understand what he was trying to say, because he smiled and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, looking up at Zuko with wide, trusting eyes. 

Zuko cupped his jaw in the curve of his palm. “I… I’ve wanted this for a really long time,” he said, speaking around a lump in his throat. It seemed important to say. 

“I never knew,” Aang said. He placed his hand over Zuko’s, his thumb rubbing over Zuko’s knuckles. “But I’m glad.”

Zuko sat down next to Aang on the bed, and when he reached for Aang, Aang was right there. His lips were soft against Zuko’s and when he moaned a little, it sent a jolt straight to Zuko’s cock. Zuko shifted, acutely aware of his own arousal, and was surprised to find Aang’s hand at his groin, exploring.

“Is this all right?” Aang murmured into Zuko’s ear, and Zuko nodded as hard and as fast as he was able to. Aang’s palm fit over the hardening shape of Zuko’s cock and Zuko arched up into it. Aang’s other hand still covered Zuko’s own, clutching it tighter as Zuko pushed his hips up into Aang’s grip. He was already so hard it was embarrassing, and it just got worse as Aang kissed him again. 

Zuko wasn’t sure what to do. For all that he was the Fire Lord, he’d never had any boyfriend or girlfriend aside from Mai, years ago, and they never did anything beyond kissing. He felt woefully inexperienced and his mind kept freezing up. Aang’s palm felt so good against his cock that he wanted to take his pants off and see if that felt even better, but he didn’t want to stop holding hands. 

At some point he realized it might be nice if he reciprocated, and he hastily groped with his own hand at Aang’s groin. He found a hard shape that indicated Aang was enjoying this as much as he was, and he started working his hand up and down the same way Aang was doing on him.

“Oh,” Aang gasped, pulling back and removing his hand. “Here, let’s--” And then he was moving, pulling off his shirt and lifting his hips to shove down his pants. Zuko hurried to follow suit, but his Fire Lord robes were a little more complex than Aang’s simple shirt and pants, and it took him a frustratingly long time to get completely naked. When he was finished, Aang was perched on the edge of the bed waiting for him, an amused grin flitting over his features as he watched Zuko undress.

They had seen each other naked before, but never like this. Aang was fully erect, his cock blood dark against his stomach, and seeing it made Zuko’s mouth go dry. He scooted until he was sitting right next to Aang, their shoulders touching, and they kissed some more. Aang’s mouth was warm and soft and welcoming, and Zuko loved kissing him more than anything.

Aang urged Zuko back and they laid down on their sides together, legs entwined. Aang’s cock brushed the tip of Zuko’s own, sending a pleasant thrill up Zuko’s spine. He pushed his hips forward so that it happened again, and oh, that was good. Zuko rolled on his back and pulled Aang on top of him, lining their hips up so that it could happen over and over.

Aang ground down against him and Zuko gasped at how good it felt, the sweet friction of his cock touching Aang’s cock and then bumping up against Aang’s belly. They got a rhythm going, Aang pushing down as Zuko pushed up, and Aang moaned loudly when Zuko hooked one leg around Aang’s thigh. 

From this angle, their eyes could meet, and Zuko got another thrill just from the eye contact. Aang looked so intense like this, his head bowed and his hips pumping, and Zuko threw an arm over his shoulders to bring him down for a kiss. Everything felt so _good,_ the friction of their bodies and the warmth of Aang’s sweat. The heat of his mouth against Zuko’s. Zuko groaned into the kiss and felt Aang’s answering shudder throughout his whole skeleton, the vibration going deep and low. 

Aang reached down to grab Zuko’s leg, his fingers digging into skin. He lost himself in the movement of Aang against him, Aang’s hips like a wave crashing into the shore that was Zuko’s body, rhythmic and repetitive. Zuko rubbed a hand up against Aang’s scalp, loving the feel of the smooth skin against his palm. 

The sweet feeling inside his gut built and built as they pushed against each other, until Zuko knew he was on the edge. He broke their kiss to trail his mouth over Aang’s jaw to his neck, gasping helplessly against the skin there as his orgasm broke over him. Zuko clung to Aang until the feeling passed, leaving him limp and spent. He slumped back down on the bed, panting, and it wasn’t long before he felt Aang stiffen in his arms. Aang cried out softly when he came, his whole body rigid, and Zuko pressed kisses to the skin between Aang’s neck and collarbone as he waited for him to come down.

Aang relaxed all over and Zuko’s hand moved from petting his head to petting long strokes down his spine. He could feel a wet stickiness between their bodies, which was gross, but he couldn’t even begin to care. He had Aang, warm and loose-limbed and sleepy in his arms, and this was all he had wanted for so long.

Zuko wasn’t sure how long they lay like that, with Aang’s weight heavy and warm on top of him. At some point Aang rolled off him, but he didn’t go far, instead curling into Zuko’s side and throwing one of his legs over Zuko’s thigh.

“So, this changes things,” Aang said, and Zuko’s heart stuttered, sped up, then sank.

“Yeah,” he said, turning his head to stare at the wall. It was sinking in that they had done this in the guest room of a man whose daughter Zuko would possibly marry; sinking in that this was maybe the first and last time he’d ever get to have this. He still had to marry someone else.

“This adds to your criteria for your future wife,” Aang said, and Zuko turned to give him a questioning look. Aang reached up to cup Zuko’s face, his thumb brushing Zuko’s lip. “You can find someone who has the same kind of arrangement that I do with Katara. Someone who’d be okay with this.”

Zuko blinked, taking in this idea. “You think that’s--possible? That there’s a woman out there who wouldn’t mind?”

“Sure! You can’t be the first Fire Lord in history who loved someone other than the person he married.”

Zuko felt his face heat up when Aang said ‘loved;’ was he really that transparent? “I guess.”

Aang laughed and kissed him, just a soft brush of his lips over Zuko’s mouth. “You’re so dour. I’m telling you, we can find you a woman who will both love and cherish you but be all right with this--” Aang gestured at their bodies-- “--at the same time.”

“Hm. If you say so,” Zuko said. He kept his voice skeptical, but truthfully felt more hopeful about the prospect of marriage than he ever had before. 

“I _do_ say so,” Aang said, insistent. He turned Zuko’s face toward him and kissed him more thoroughly this time, his tongue brushing over Zuko’s bottom lip. Zuko reached up to touch Aang’s face, brushing his fingers over Aang’s beard. Aang’s hope and confidence were contagious. Maybe he was right.

“I know I don’t want to give this up,” Zuko said quietly when they parted. Aang smiled at him, barely visible in the dark light of the room.

“Me neither,” Aang said, his voice fervent and a little bit possessive. Zuko liked that. He knew that he’d belonged to Aang ever since he left his father’s side for the Avatar’s, and now maybe Aang belonged to him a little bit too.

 

*

In the morning, Zuko asked Fang to go on a walk with him. They went out past the edge of town and climbed over the hills that separated Zanaka from the coast, ending up on the beach. Zuko watched her as they walked along the shore. She seemed very inwardly focused, quiet and contemplative. He hadn’t known her for very long, but he felt that she would make a good partner.

“So,” he said, clearing his throat. He couldn’t find a way to present this question without it being horribly awkward and embarrassing. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something. About--our potential marriage.”

Fang looked up at that. “Please, ask away.”

Zuko hesitated, but there was no way to say this without being blunt, so he just went for it. “I have to marry to produce heirs, but otherwise I probably wouldn’t. Marriages of state are often loveless, at least at the beginning, and I don’t know that ours would be any different. It’s not like we’re in love.”

Fang didn’t protest. Zuko took a breath. “But the thing is--there is someone that I love,” he said, and dammit, he could feel himself blushing. He carried on doggedly. “And if you and I were to marry, I would want there to be some kind of--arrangement, I guess, so that I could continue to see them even after we were married. No one outside of the two of us would know, of course--I wouldn’t humiliate you like that. But this person, they’re important to me, and I don’t want to lose them by marrying someone else. Do you think you could--I mean. Does this sound like something you’d be okay with?”

Zuko shut his mouth before he could ramble on any further. He looked at Fang out of the corner of his eye. She was quiet, and it looked like she was thinking, taking the question seriously.

“This--arrangement,” she said eventually. “Would you also allow me to see people outside the marriage?”

Zuko was surprised by the question, although perhaps he shouldn’t have been. “Is there someone else you would want to see?”

Fang’s face betrayed nothing, but her hand made an abortive movement before stilling. “I--My highest allegiance is to you, and that would be especially true if I were your wife,” she said, as if she’d suddenly remembered she was talking to the Fire Lord.

Zuko frowned. He liked it better when she forgot. “But--being my wife aside. Is there someone else?”

Fang looked out at the ocean. “Yes,” she said quietly, clasping her hands together. “Yes, there is.”

Zuko remembered his mother, and how she had been torn away from her love to marry the Fire Lord. He wanted to break the pattern. “I wouldn’t want to force you to give anyone up. That wouldn’t be right. If I’m seeing someone else outside the marriage, then of course you could continue being with your person as well.”

A smile lit up Fang’s face, her expression so genuine that it made Zuko wonder how forced all her other smiles had been. “I’m grateful. I couldn’t ask for anything more.” 

“So does this mean--do you still want to, um, marry me?” Zuko knew that as proposals went, it wasn’t the most graceful. He wondered if he should get down on one knee or something, but it was sandy and he didn’t want to. 

“Yes! Yes, of course I do. Are you saying you want me to be your wife?” Fang’s eyes were wide, and Zuko hesitated. It was an important question, and he needed to be sure.

But he liked Fang. He thought she would make a good mother. And there was the fact that was maybe the most important to him: they both had people they loved outside the marriage, so they were in a very similar position. 

“Yes,” he said eventually. He could hardly believe it: he’d made the decision. This huge event in his life was happening, right now. He felt an echo of the heady, overwhelming feeling that he’d experienced during his coronation, the feeling that he was looking at his life from outside of it.

Fang let out a long breath. “Oh,” she said, sounding slightly stunned. She turned to him and bowed low. “I am honored, Lord Zuko.”

“You don’t have to call me that,” Zuko said. “Not if we’re going to be husband and wife.”

Fang lifted her head, another grin on her face. Zuko found himself grinning back. “All right,” she said. “Shall we go tell my father?”

They turned and headed back towards Kuo’s house. Now that the decision was made, Zuko felt a rush of energy. He couldn’t wait to tell Aang.

Once they were over the hills, Zuko took her arm. “I have an idea,” he said, a smile lighting its way across his face. “Want to race back to the house?”

Fang laughed. “Sure!” And without waiting for him to announce the start, she took off, running ahead of him. Zuko scrambled to catch up to her, and the remaining distance back to the house passed in a blur. Zuko ran and ran until he forgot he was racing anyone, until it was just him and the wind whistling past his ears.

Then the house was in sight and in its courtyard was Aang, and Zuko didn’t stop himself from running into his arms, laughing and sending them both tumbling to the ground. Behind them, Fang was standing with her hands on her knees, panting for breath.

Aang rolled on top of Zuko, a quizzical look on his face. “What? What is it?”

Zuko stared up at him in adoration. Aang’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes were bright. He’d given Zuko the right to consider him more than just one of his closest friends, and Zuko wasn’t ever going to forget how lucky he was.

“Aang,” he said, reaching up to cup his cheek. “I have good news.”


End file.
